Cautious on Wall Street
Investors move to sidelines ahead of Fed decision; consumer confidence on tap, oil tumbles.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks futures fell early Tuesday as investors grew cautious ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
About three hours before the market open, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower and indicating a negative start for Wall Street.
Stocks were little changed Monday ahead of the start of the two-day meeting of Fed policymakers Tuesday. The central bank is expected to lower rates yet again when it releases its policy statement Wednesday. But many expect the central bank to hold rates steady after that cut.
On the economic front, the continued problems in the housing sector are likely to be highlighted just before the open with the release of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac reported Tuesday that foreclosures soared 112% in the first quarter, compared to a year earlier.
The problems in housing and labor markets, along with record high oil and gas prices, are likely to have hammered the U.S. consumer. At 10 a.m. ET, the Conference Board is set to release its consumer confidence index, and economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast the index will slide to 61 from its previous reading of 64.5 in March.
Oil prices tumbled as supply concerns eased. U.S. crude fell $1.11 to $117.64 a barrel in electronic trading.
Companies to watch include credit card processor Visa (V), which reported a jump in quarterly profit late Monday. But shares fell in after-hours trading as investors had hoped for even more robust results.
The latest installment of Take-Two Interactive's (TTWO) Grand Theft Auto video game series goes on sale Tuesday. Grand Theft Auto 4 is expected to break sales records and could give Take-Two more room to negotiate for a higher price from rival Electronic Arts (ERTS), which has launched a hostile takeover bid.
In other deal news, the Wall Street Journal reported that executives with chocolate maker Hershey (HSY, Fortune 500) were examining potential next steps to respond to Mars' deal to purchase chewing gum maker Wm. Wrigley. The paper reports Hershey could hold talks with British candymaker Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) once it completes its planned spin-off of its drinks unit this Friday.
Deutsche Bank (DB) became the latest bank to be hit by the credit meltdown. It posted its first quarterly loss in five years after taking $4.2 billion in writedowns.
Drugmaker Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) announced late Monday that the Food and Drug Administration is requiring more information on its cholesterol drug candidate Cordaptive. But Merck reaffirmed its profit guidance despite the setback. Shares of the Dow component were down nearly 5% in Frankfurt trading early Monday.
In global trade, Asian markets ended mixed. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. European shares were mixed in early trading. 
